Department of Sociology
Manor Road, Oxford
OX13UQ
Telephone: 01865 281740
Fax: 01865 286171
Email: enquiries@sociology.oxford.ac.uk
Website:
www.sociology.ox.ac.uk
Job title
Hulme University Fund and John Fell OUP Research Fund
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Sociology
Division
Social Sciences
Department
Sociology
Location
Department of Sociology, Manor Road Building, Oxford
Grade and salary
Grade 7.1: £29,837 p.a.
Hours
Full Time
Contract type
Fixed-term (3 years)
Reporting to
Vacancy reference
Head of Department
112018
Additional
information
Introduction
The University
The University of Oxford is a complex and stimulating organisation, which enjoys an
international reputation as a world-class centre of excellence in research and teaching. It
employs over 10,000 staff and has a student population of over 22,000.
Most staff are directly appointed and managed by one of the University’s 130
departments or other units within a highly devolved operational structure - this includes
over 6,500 ‘academic-related’ staff (postgraduate research, computing, senior library,
and administrative staff) and over 2,700 ‘support’ staff (including clerical, library,
technical, and manual staff). There are also over 1,600 academic staff (professors,
readers, lecturers), whose appointments are in the main overseen by a combination of
broader divisional and local faculty board/departmental structures. Academics are
generally all also employed by one of the 38 constituent colleges of the University as
well as by the central University itself.
Our annual income in 2011/12 was £1,016.1m. Oxford is one of Europe's most
innovative and entrepreneurial universities: income from external research contracts
exceeds £409m p.a., and more than 80 spin-off companies have been created.
For more information please visit www.ox.ac.uk/staff/about_the_university.html
Social Sciences Division
Social Sciences is one of four academic Divisions in the University, each with
considerable devolved budgetary and financial authority; and responsibility for providing
a broad strategic focus across its constituent disciplines. Thirteen departments, one
faculty, and three cross-divisional research units come under the aegis of the division
which spans the full range of social science disciplines with links into the humanities and
physical sciences (including Law, Management, Economics, Politics and International
Relations, Sociology, Social Policy, Area Studies, Development Studies, Education,
Anthropology, Archaeology, Geography, Public Policy). There are over 700 academic
staff, 2,700 graduate students (postgraduate taught and postgraduate research), and
1900 undergraduates working and studying in the division.
The division is established as a world-leading centre for research in the social sciences
and regularly sits at the highest levels of international league tables of one form or
another. It is the largest grouping of social science disciplines in the UK and it is also
home to several of Oxford’s most widely recognised teaching programmes. We believe
that excellence in teaching and research is synergistic and remain committed to
sustaining and developing the high quality of our activities in both these areas. Our
departments are committed to research which develops a greater understanding of all
aspects of society, from the impact of political, legal and economic systems on social
and economic welfare to human rights and security. That research is disseminated
through innovative graduate programmes and enhances undergraduate courses.
For more information please visit: http://www.socsci.ox.ac.uk/
The Department of Sociology
The Department of Sociology has ambitious plans to enhance and develop its research
and impact both in the UK and globally, and expects to achieve high scores in the UK’s
2013 REF (Research Excellence Framework) exercise. As well as undertaking cuttingedge research, the Department carries out the full range of postgraduate teaching and
research, provides teaching and support for undergraduate courses administered by
other departments, and has about 50 staff and around 100 graduate students and
academic visitors. The Department hosts several research centres each with their own
staff and discrete research portfolios. The Department is based in the Manor Road
Building, which is home to four other teaching and research departments and provides
shared teaching and meeting rooms, as well as the Social Sciences Library.
Oxford has a long and distinguished history of sociological research. Some of the most
well known and influential sociological studies in the UK, e.g. the Oxford Social Mobility
Survey, the Social Change and Economic Life Initiative, the British Election Survey
series, were led by Oxford sociologists. The Department of Sociology was established in
1999 to provide a renewed focus for sociological research and teaching in the University.
Oxford Sociology has an international reputation for innovative and rigorous research
that addresses real-world, policy-relevant issues. It has five Fellows of the British
Academy and has been highly successful, given its size, in generating external research
income. Oxford Sociology is best known for quantitative analyses of large-scale social
survey data. There is strength in other kinds of research including ethnography,
historical sociology, agent-based modelling, social network analysis and experimental
social sciences.
Currently, there are nine main research streams within the Department:

Comparative research

Crime, violence and governance

Culture and religion

Demography

Gender, family and households

Inequality, social stratification, education and labour markets

Health

Political sociology and social movements

Research methods
Academic staff have access to the Social Sciences library, which is housed with the
department in the Manor Road Building and also to the library in Nuffield College. The
College also maintains a data library, a key resource with dedicated specialist staffing.
The University has a discrete fund to which bids for research support can be made and
for which the Department of Sociology has a strong record of success. Additionally,
departmental staff are encouraged to apply to the department for funds to assist with
research activity where this cannot be covered through external awards. There is a very
strong research culture within the Department, with two weekly Sociology seminar series
running during term.
The Department offers two taught courses: a one-year MSc in Sociology and a two-year
MPhil in Sociology and Demography, which together have an intake of about 25
students per year. In addition, about 15 doctoral students are admitted each year. The
Department of Sociology also offers teaching for the undergraduate degree programmes
in Human Sciences, and Philosophy, Politics and Economics.
For more information, please visit our web-site at www.sociology.ox.ac.uk
Summary of the Hulme-John Fell Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Hulme postdoctoral fellowship is funded by the Hulme University Fund and John
Fell OUP Research Fund as part of a wider Oxford University initiative which is
designed:

to provide an intensive and supported career-development opportunity for
outstanding researchers at an early stage of their career;

to foster the very best of the next generation of potential scholars;

to enrich the academic community of Sociology scholars in Oxford.
The University will especially welcome applications from women and ethnic minorities,
who are under-represented among its academic staff (section 38 of the Sex
Discrimination Act 1975 and section 48 of the Race Relations Act 1976 apply).
The Hulme Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology will:

take up the appointment by 1 October 2014;

receive a salary in the range of £29,837 for three years1;

be able to develop expertise in both research and teaching;

have an academic mentor as well as a personalised career and professional
development package, including the opportunity to undertake the University’s
postgraduate diploma in learning and teaching; and

have an association with Brasenose College for the three-year duration of the
fellowship.
Brasenose College
Brasenose College is one of the older Colleges in the University of Oxford. Founded in
1509, the College is situated on Radcliffe Square in the heart of Oxford. The College has
an active academic community of approximately 375 undergraduates, 230
postgraduates, and 70 Fellows.
The Hulme Postdoctoral Fellow will be a member of the Senior Common Room, with full
dining rights, entitling the Fellow to free meals when the kitchens are open. The College
will also provide a hospitality allowance, currently £133pa, for the entertainment of
academic guests.
The starting salary offered will be equivalent to Grade 7 point 1 on the University’s salary scale. The
postholder will receive an annual salary increment, plus any nationally agreed cost of living rise.
1
Job description
Overview
Applications from women and ethnic minorities, who are under-represented in academic
posts at Oxford, are particularly welcome.
The Hulme Postdoctoral Fellowship is a three-year post designed to give supported
experience in a broad range of academic duties, encompassing research, teaching and
organising academic initiatives.
The fellowship aims to support a promising academic who has completed her or his
doctorate and is developing a new academic project. The Department of Sociology
expects that the fellow will develop during the tenure of the fellowship the profile to
pursue a successful academic career.
Professional and career development
The Hulme Postdoctoral Fellow will have an academic mentor who will discuss work-inprogress and support the individual in making effective use of the scheme to plan for an
academic career.
Each Fellow will be entitled to research support funds, up to £1,500 a year, to facilitate
their research development. The uses to which this can be put will be intentionally left
open, but could include visits to overseas libraries, or attendance at international
conferences.
Fellows are offered a carefully tailored package of professional development. Soon after
taking up their appointment, individuals will have the opportunity to meet with a
professional development adviser from the University’s Oxford Learning Institute. The
Learning Institute has a well-developed programme of courses for academic and
research staff and fellows will have access to these. Postdoctoral research staff are
eligible to take the Diploma in Learning and Teaching in HE subject to an application
once in post. For more information, please visit http://www.learning.ox.ac.uk/.
Key responsibilities:
1. To engage in research through:
i) Taking sole responsibility for own academic research and administrative
activities;
ii) Analysing qualitative and/or quantitative data and developing and testing new
theories and/or methods;
iii) Publishing in highly-ranked, peer-reviewed academic journals or publishers;
iv) Present papers at conferences or public meetings.
2. To teach for no more than 2-3 hours per week or supervise M.Sc./M.Phil. students
across the three years of the fellowship.
3. To play an active role in the intellectual life of the Department.
Selection criteria
To be eligible for the Hulme Fellowship scheme, candidates will:
1.
have completed a doctorate, by the date of taking up the appointment;
2.
be at an early stage of an academic career, and have completed their doctorate no
earlier than October 2010 (excluding justified career breaks);
3.
be engaged in research in one or more of the main Research Streams of the
Department of Sociology.
Candidates who already hold a permanent academic appointment will not be
considered.
To be successful, candidates will also need to demonstrate that they meet the following
essential selection criteria:
4. show outstanding promise as a scholar in their field;
5. have an informed interest in the full range of academic duties and in progressing to
an academic post; and
6. have a commitment to their own professional development.
Working at the University of Oxford
For further information about working at Oxford, please see:
http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/jobs/research/
How to apply
If you consider that you meet the selection criteria, click on
http://www.sociology.ox.ac.uk/vacancies?search=vacancies__all&task=search
which will take you to the ‘Job Details’ page, click on the title of the post (Hulme
University fund and John Fell OUP Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellowships in
Sociology) and then please follow the on-screen instructions to register as a user. You
will then be required to complete a number of screens with your application details,
relating to your skills and experience.
When prompted, please provide details of two referees, at least one of whom should be
from outside Oxford University, and indicate whether we can contact them at this stage.
You will also be required to upload:





a covering letter explaining how you meet the eligibility and selection criteria for the
scheme (see above);
a research proposal, which is not directly derivative of your doctoral work, outlining
the work you would undertake during your appointment as a Hulme Postdoctoral
Fellow (no more than two pages) and how would this work connect to one or more
of the research streams of the Department of Sociology;
a curriculum vitae and publications list
the names and contact details of two academic referees, at least one of whom
should be from outside Oxford University
e-mail to jane.greig@sociology.ox.ac.uk a sample of your recently published, or soon
to be published work, of no more than 30 pages
Separate application is not required for the Brasenose College.
Please save all uploaded documents to show your name and the document type.
All applications must be received by midday on 11 April 2014.
Information for Priority Candidates
A priority candidate is a University employee who is seeking redeployment owing to the
fact that he or she has been advised that they are at risk of redundancy, or on grounds
of ill-health/disability. Priority candidates are issued with a redeployment letter by their
employing departments and this letter must be attached to any application they submit.
The priority application date for this post is midday on 4 April 2014
Full details of the priority application process are available at:
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/personnel/end/red/redproc/prioritycandidate